‘Gratifying’ return for E-Rod
Lefty goes 5 innings in first regular-season start in 557 days
Everything seemed normal for Eduardo Rodriguez as he prepared for his first regularseason start in 557 days on Thursday. But then he stepped onto the mound at Camden Yards for the start of the first inning and saw Orioles leadoff hitter Cedric Mullins approach the plate.
The gravity of the moment sunk in for Rodriguez.
“I was feeling like it was my first time in the big leagues,” Rodriguez said. “It was chills. My body was all chills. It wasn’t like nervous, I was just like too excited to go up there in the first inning.”
The first inning of his first start since 2019, after missing last season with myocarditis, was an emotional rollercoaster for Rodriguez. There was a point when he was first diagnosed with myocarditis last year that he wondered if he’d get back to this point, and it meant so much that he did. And the Red Sox gave him plenty more to celebrate by lifting him to a 7-3 win over the O’s, their fourth straight.
“We made a point, when he threw the first pitch, to give him a standing ovation,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “People in the bullpen, everybody in the dugout. …
“I just told him, what happened today is because of him. He put the work in. He put himself in this situation. And it was very gratifying.”
The day was special for a number of reasons. Not only was it Rodriguez’s longawaited return, but also for Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini, who made his return to Baltimore after beating colon cancer. It was almost destiny that the two were making their own returns on the same day.
When Mancini stepped into the batter’s box in the first inning, he received a deserved ovation from the crowd. Then he pointed to Rodriguez to acknowledge
the pitcher’s comeback.
“That was really special for me to see him back there, too, after everything he went through,” Rodriguez said. “It just feels good. Me and him being back again, it feels really good.”
The emotions, understandably so, may have caught up to Rodriguez. After Rafael Devers had given him an early 2-0 lead, the Red Sox left-hander struggled through the first. He gave up the lead on a tworun homer to Ryan Mountcastle, and needed 26 pitches to get through the inning. When he got back to the dugout, he had a message from catcher Christian Vazquez.
“After the first inning he came to me and told me that’s it, now you’re ready and now you go up there and pitch,” Rodriguez said. “That was most of the guys in the dugout who told me that. ‘You ready, you set? Now you go.’ I took that and went up
there and tried to keep the score like it was.”
The emotions subsided. Rodriguez came back strong to retire the Orioles with 1-2-3 innings in the second and third. He retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced, with the only remaining blemish coming on a solo home run to Pedro Severino, which gave the O’s a 3-2 lead in the fourth.
Rodriguez wasn’t at his best, but he looked strong in five innings, relying mostly on his changeup and cutter. But the performance wasn’t as important as what the day represented. When he was lifted after 79 pitches, Cora gave him a big hug in the dugout and told him congratulations.
Then his teammates went out and gave him a storybook ending to the day.
Trailing 3-2 in the sixth, the Red Sox’ offense came through for their ace. With the help of some struggles
from Orioles left fielder Mountcastle, they retook the lead with a pair of runs and didn’t look back. Three more runs in the seventh and eighth ensured that Rodriguez would end his special day with a win next to his name.
“I think today’s story is not about hitting or defense or whatever, it’s about Eduardo,” Cora said. “For him to compete out there and give us five strong innings, that was very gratifying for the organization. … It’s a testament to where he’s at in his career, who he is as a person, and I know it was a big day for him. I’m happy that everything went well. I’m happy for his family. Very happy for him.”
After Matt Barnes closed out the victory in the ninth, the Red Sox celebrated the moment in the visitors’ clubhouse. Cora said some words, and Rodriguez’s teammates gave him another
ovation.
“That was special, too,” Rodriguez said. “Everybody was part of that, so it was really special.”